


As Cross As Two Sticks

by Self_Insert_Nonsense



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, finally figuring out how these tags work lmao, polygang babey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24065005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Self_Insert_Nonsense/pseuds/Self_Insert_Nonsense
Summary: Being hired to kill was something Sakura was used to at this point. Being hired to kill someone like Arséne Lupin the Third... That was a whole different game.Falling for his right hand man? Something she never expected.
Relationships: Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III/Mine Fujiko, Jigen Daisuke/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Every time people tell me they like one of my self ships, I get so confused but hey! It's fine, tbh :D

Being hired to kill was something Sakura was used to at this point. Being hired to kill someone like Arséne Lupin the Third... That was a whole different game. She had heard all about this thief, he was charming, cunning, and prided himself in being a "gentleman". Ugh. He was like all the other men she had killed, most likely. A horrible womanizer who only cared about himself.

At least that was what she thought, until she was holding her butterfly knife to his throat, and his partner was holding a gun to her head, while another man watched silently, a sword in his hands. This had been been a rather unexpected turn, and Sakura knew when she was in a situation that would kill her. Normally she would like those odds, but the muzzle of the gun was pressed to the back of her head, and the samurai in the distance looked like he knew how to kill someone easily. There's no way she could win.

She glanced at the man behind her as he cocked his gun, "Didn't know you had friends," she looked back at Lupin, cautiously lowering her knife. He grinned, "You'd be surprised how many times I've convinced people set to kill me to become my friend," she noticed him nod to the man standing behind her, then look back at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Sakura felt the man behind her lower his gun, and saw the samurai sheath his sword. She glanced apprehensively at Lupin, "How do you know I'll react the same way?"

"How do you know you have a choice?" the man behind her muttered. She turned and shot him a glare, "Was I talking to you sharpshooter?" How annoying, she thought, stepping away from the two men, "No but the answer's still the same, butter knife," she really wanted to wipe the smirk off his face as he said that. Lupin chuckled, "Now Jigen how are we supposed to get this lovely lady to join our group if you offend her? Save the teasing for another time. What's your name anyway?"

She narrowed her eyes at the "lovely" compliment, not understanding why he seemed to be trying to flirt, "Sakura."

"You don't look Japanese," the other man, Jigen, muttered. Her hand involuntarily twitched, noticing his hand do the same, but Lupin just smiled and said, "Well I don't look French but my father's a French man so it's fine."

"My father was German," she muttered, still glancing at Jigen. She noticed, for the first time, that his hat was covering his eyes, hiding whatever he may really be thinking. Lupin nodded, "I think my only other questions are who hired you, and would you like to join us instead? I think the payment would be better than being an assassin. They seem to get ripped off a lot."

"I don't know the name of the guy who hired me. And unless you give me a legitimately good reason, I don't think joining you is the wisest idea, smart guy."

"Other than being part of a group with a really handsome leader? Man you're a tough one. You're probably the... Second girl who hasn't been charmed by me!"

"You're not my type, I don't date monkeys," she said smugly, watching Lupin visibly deflate, "That's what the other lady said too. Weird. Then again she ended up getting with this inspector from Interpol who's been on my tail for years now but she's known him a lot longer than I have so I suppose it wasn't too weird...," he rambled like that for a few minutes, while Sakura watched in confusion before turning to Jigen, who was smirking, "Give him a minute. He'll get back on track. He gets like that sometimes."

She turned back to Lupin who had started grinning at her, "See you're already getting along with my partner! I think we could make this work. Just think about it, you can still use your skills, although maybe with a little less killing, and you'll always know who you're working with instead of being hired by shady folks who probably would kill you the moment you didn't follow through with a hit."

Sakura froze as a shot rang out, the bullet whizzing by her head from behind. Behind Lupin, a man fell to the ground. She turned and looked at Jigen, who silently put his gun away. She slowly turned back to Lupin, "How did he..?"

"Jigen is the best gunman you'll probably ever meet. He never misses a shot. Never. Something would have to be really distracting for him to miss," Lupin sounded very proud of this fact. The samurai, who had been standing far off, had come over, "There are at least three others nearby, probably ready to strike. I believe the girl was going to be betrayed regardless of if she completed the job or not."

Just as he said that, gunshots rang out, causing the group to scatter. Sakura hid behind a nearby rock, noticing Jigen had done the same right by her. He pulled his gun out, and when he noticed her knife in her hand, grumbled, "Haven't you heard of not taking a knife to a gun show?"

"Oh shut up and shoot your gun at the bastards," she yelled, running out. He jumped in surprise, "Hey wait-!" He stopped when he saw her dodging the bullets easily. Pulling his gun out, he shot at one of the other shooters, knocking them back with ease. He glanced over at Sakura again, who had gotten to one of the others and sliced him down. He had to admit, she was incredibly graceful. He supposed that made sense, though, considering how she was sent to go after Lupin, and usually the best were the ones who went after him.

Lupin ran over to Jigen, "Goemon got the third guy, let's go. Hey! Sakura!" She looked up at him after cleaning her knife, "You coming with us?" He called out. She thought about it, looking at the three men as they prepared to get out of there. After some deliberation, she nodded and ran to catch up to them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sakura decides she's gonna make Jigen stop whining about a toothache

Three weeks after Sakura decided to join Lupin and his gang, she felt herself falling into a regular pattern. Help plan heist, help pull heist, help clean wounds because Lupin was kind of an idiot and Jigen had no idea what self care was. At least she didn't have to worry about Goemon, usually. Meeting Fujiko had been an interesting surprise. Meeting Ichika had been an even stranger one, and she had met the two of them at the same time.

"So you're the new member of the gang, huh?" Ichika had asked. Sakura, feeling slightly intimidated by these two women, but not wanting to show it, simply nodded. She had never felt self conscious about her looks before, but both these women were so vastly different from herself, it was very difficult not to feel a little uncomfortable. They had been fairly friendly, however.

"It's so nice to have another girl in the group. We're evened out now!" Fujiko had cheered, "The three of us have got to spend some time away from the guys, have a girls' night or something!"

Sakura tried not to think about it. She wasn't used to having people be friendly with her. She was pulled from her thoughts by Jigen yelling about something. She looked up and noticed him holding his cheek, "What's wrong with you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head, "Nothing, don't worry about it."

"Bullshit, what's wrong with you?" She stood and walked over to him, bending down so she was face to face with him. He frowned, leaning away, "Get outta my face dammit," she grabbed his chin, forcing his mouth open as she looked inside. Frowning, she glanced up at his eyes, which she could barely see due to his hat, "You have a bad tooth. You should get that removed."

"Not happening. I'd rather suffer," he tried to say, but it was hard thanks to her strong hold on his chin. Her frown deepened, "Why don't you go to the dentist?" Jigen finally pulled his face away from her hand, "Don't like them."

"Would you rather me pull the tooth? You need to pull it, it's pretty much dead. I have some pliers I could probably use," Jigen felt his body grow cold at the dark look in Sakura's eyes, even when she said, "Relax, I have some real strong anesthetics I stole from a hospital a few months back. They're still good, don't expire for about a year. Won't feel a thing. Or I could get you real freaking drunk and then pull it out," he could've sworn she smirked for a moment before grabbing his chin and looking in his mouth again.

Jigen felt like he was going to die when Lupin walked in, his eyes widening in surprise, "Is this some kind of weird kink thing or..?" Lupin laughed. Jigen jerked away, only to groan in pain again and grab his face. Sakura looked blankly at Lupin, who sighed, "Your tooth again?"

"Have you seen this thing? It's totally dead. He needs to get it pulled before it gets infected. Could fuck his whole face up if he doesn't," Sakura was glancing back at Jigen, who looked horrified at the thought. Lupin's face grew serious, "Jigen why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Didn't think it was a problem," Jigen replied, wincing in pain. Sakura stood up, "I'm getting the pliers and that anesthetic. You're probably gonna hate me for a few days but you'll thank me later," she left the room, leaving Jigen and Lupin alone for the moment. Lupin placed his hands behind his back, glancing at his partner mischievously, "So... what do you think of Sakura so far?" Jigen glared at him, "She's a little too blunt for my liking. Damn woman, thinking she can scare me... There's no way it's that bad...," he faltered, noticing Lupin frowning, "Jigen. I'm pretty sure her being blunt means that she's also being honest... Which means your tooth is probably messed up bad."

"Why the hell were you asking me about her, anyway?" Jigen grumbled. The glint of mischief returned in Lupin's eye as he responded, "Oh I dunno... Do you think she's cute?" Jigen tilted his hat back as he narrowed his eyes at him, "I suppose. You're not thinking of trying to get with her again, are you? She kinda made it clear she's not interested in you."

Lupin grinned, "Oh, I'm not gonna try anything. But she seems to pay an awful lot of attention to you. Maybe you should think about that. Maybe she likes you," Sakura walked back in just as Lupin finished talking. Jigen wondered if Sakura had heard any of it. She pulled a chair up so she was facing him, "Alright sharpshooter, open up it's time for painkillers."

"This stuff's not gonna make me say stupid stuff, is it?" Jigen asked, trying to hide his apprehension. Sakura, in a rare moment of emotion, simply smiled and responded, "If you can stay awake long enough, sure. But this is some strong stuff, should knock you right out. You won't feel a thing. I promise, I know what I'm doing," Jigen wasn't sure what to feel in that moment, but he felt his heart rate picking up slightly. Lupin was wrong, she wasn't cute, she was pretty. Maybe he had been on to something about Sakura liking Jigen.

"Here, it'll take a little bit before the stuff kicks in, so take it now and then go lie on the couch," she held up a syringe filled with a clear liquid. He frowned, "How do I know that stuff isn't gonna kill me?" She scoffed and responded, "I would have killed you by now if I was trying. Trust me," she injected the liquid into his arm, "You're gonna be real out of it in a couple minutes, but just think of how relieved you're gonna feel after the tooth pain's gone."

He nodded slightly, looking at the now empty syringe, "How do you know how to do this stuff, anyway? You're kinda smart when it comes to medical stuff," she glanced up at him from the pliers, which she'd been sanitizing, "I've learned a lot of medical stuff over the years. When you're someone who kills people for a living, going to public places like hospitals isn't really a good idea. I had to do a lot of self medication, clean a lot of my own wounds... stuff like that. How you feeling?"

"Kinda funny. That stuff kicking in?" His words were slurring a little. She nodded, "Yeah you'll probably be out soon. Now's a good time for you to tell me any weird secrets you might be hiding from me."

"Ha ha, very funny," he muttered, his eyes getting heavy. This stuff was kicking in really fast. Jigen felt oddly calm, usually when he was under something like anesthesia, his fight or flight would begin to kick in. But he was suddenly aware of Sakura patting his knee reassuringly, "Come on sharpshooter let's get you to the couch," he was vaguely aware of her arm slipping around him and placing him on the couch, pushing him down so he was lying on his back. He heard a click and looked over, seeing her holding a flashlight, "Gotta be able to see into your mouth while you're unconscious, also," she held up a tool he didn't recognize, "I may have stolen some dental tools a few years back, gotta make sure you don't choke while you're out of it, you know?"

He noticed his hat was off, when had that happened..? His eyes were heavy and he felt them getting heavier as they slowly shut. Sakura said something but he didn't hear it as he slipped into unconsciousness. When he opened his eyes again, it was dark outside. Sitting up, he noticed his face felt a little funny, and he looked around, noticing Sakura sitting off in the corner, reading a book next to a small lamp. She perked up when she noticed he was awake, "Oh hey, how you feeling?"

He tried to talk, but realized he had cotton in his mouth. He frowned, not answering, "Ah I forgot. Can't talk yet. You should be good in a couple of days. Wanna see the tooth?" He started to get up, but Sakura quickly walked over and pushed him back down, "No way in hell are you gonna walk yet, Jigen. Here, I have it in a little cup," she held the small cup up and showed him the tooth. His eyes widened in surprise as he managed to say, "Oh damn...," Sakura smirked, "I told you it was bad. Now then, you need to get back to sleep, you have to heal up after the impromptu tooth removal."

He watched her leave the room. He had to admit, he felt a little better. He thought about what Lupin said again, how it was possible Sakura might like him. She went out of her way to remove a damn tooth for him, something she could possibly have done because he had been moaning and groaning about it, but she hadn't even acted annoyed

Sakura, now in the other room, leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. God, she was glad that was over. Why had she done that? Helping Jigen with something like that when she could have easily just scared him into going to the dentist. She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought about it. He was just so... irritating sometimes. All that wincing and groaning about his damn tooth had made her nearly scream in frustration. But that's not why she did it. She wasn't even sure why she did it. Sighing, she stood back up and headed to her room, placing the small cup on the counter nearby. She wasn't going to think about it anymore tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey how do you know if you like someone?" Jigen was caught off guard by the question. He looked at Sakura in confusion until she clarified, "I've never been in a relationship. I don't know what that feels like. Hell, I've never even had a crush before so I don't even know what that's like. I just figured you would probably know cuz you've been around people more than I have."

"Weird question to ask, Butterknife," the nickname no longer held malice and had become a kind of endearing nickname, "I guess I'd say it's like getting shot, but instead of it killing you, you kinda just want to spend a lot of time with the person who shot you."

"Why is it always guns with you?" The question wasn't rude, she seemed to be laughing. Jigen shrugged, "You've never been around someone and thought about being with them all the time?" He seemed surprised when she shook her head, "Never. I've been in the assassin business most of my life at this point. Didn't have time for relationships. I don't know where I'd even start."

"What brought this on anyway?" He asked. Sakura felt her face heat up, "Ah I've been feeling weird the last couple of days. Wanted to find out if I was sick or if it was something else cuz I've never felt this way before."

Jigen chuckled as Lupin walked in, slamming a blueprint down, "Fellas I've got our next heist planned. We're gonna steal this lovely statue that's said to be pure silver and completely encrusted in real diamonds!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "When it's something pretty, I feel like you're stealing it for Fujiko," Lupin placed a hand over his chest, mocking hurt, "Why Sakura!" He grinned, "You see right through me. Her birthday's coming up and I thought she'd like a pretty present."

"Yeah ok I'm in," Jigen shrugged. Sakura blinked in surprise but said nothing. Usually he was a little more vocal about how Fujiko was a gold digger and would probably betray them while spouting off misogynistic nonsense, but something changed lately and he seemed to chill out. She wondered if her vague threats about the jokes had anything to do with it.

"What do you say Kura?" She raised an eyebrow at the nickname Lupin called her, "You in?"

She looked between the two men, "Yeah sure. Why not?"  
\-----  
Sakura realized she hadn't actually met Zenigata yet, as Lupin set her up to be a decoy, "Ichika is with him so he'll know it's not her. Plus you and Fujiko look nothing alike so I know he won't suspect her. It's perfect!"

Jigen didn't seem so sure, "What if he catches on? Wouldn't it be better if one of us was with her? Last thing we need is our newest member being ambushed by a bunch of cops."

Lupin grinned devilishly, "Why Jigen, I was going to have you help her. You're gonna both be disguised," the two looked at each other, "As a married couple visiting the museum for a vacation!" The two both took an awkward step away from each other, "There's no way in hell this is gonna work," Sakura grumbled, Jigen rolled his eyes from under his hat, "Not exactly what I had in mind, Lupin."

Lupin fake pouted, then grinned again, looking pointedly at Jigen, "I suppose I could always pretend to be Sakura's husband-"

"No no I'll do it," Jigen said a little too quickly. He stomped off muttering something about Lupin shoving his gun somewhere, leaving Sakura and Lupin alone. She glanced at the door, then back to him, "What's with him?"

Lupin waved his hand, "Don't worry about it my dear. He's struggling with some confusing feelings right now. That conversation you two had when I walked in probably didn't help," he laughed. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, had he heard all of that?

"Jigen has a lot of trouble expressing how he really feels," Lupin explained, his tone a bit more serious, "Took him forever to admit he considered me a friend let alone anything else he's done. But let me tell you, I personally can tell when he likes someone. And after last week, when you threatened to slice him open if he made anymore jokes about women, that did something to him."

"Are you saying he's into people who could kill him?" Sakura wasn't sure if that was where he was going, "Kind of," Lupin explained, "He appreciates when someone calls him out for his behavior. He knows he can be kind of a pain to work with, so anyone who can call him out is pretty cool in his eyes, I think. Being easy on the eyes helps," he winked, causing Sakura to blush slightly, "What'd I say about flirting with me?"  
\---  
In disguise, Sakura and Jigen walked through the museum, arms linked. Sakura's glasses occasionally making a soft click as they took pictures of where all the cameras were. Jigen would occasionally mumble something into the hidden mic on him. Sakura spotted Ichika with a taller man in a hat and trench coat. Ichika subtly waved at them, then turned to the man and grabbed his arm, laughing about something.

Sakura leaned over slightly to talk to Jigen, "That Zenigata?" Jigen had leaned down to hear her better, "Yeah that's him. Cranky bastard. Although he doesn't seem like it right now cuz Ichika's with him. She mellows him out, really helps make these heists easier for us," Sakura was trying to focus on the inspector and the woman with him, but she was very aware of Jigen's breath on her ear as he explained to her quietly and it was very distracting. She shuddered a little as she tried to recollect herself, looking around again. The two walked closer until they were near enough to Ichika and Zenigata that they could hear the conversation.

"...know Lupin is gonna be here because he left a note. He didn't tell you about it?" Zenigata seemed perplexed. Ichika shook her head, "He only tells me about the heists where someone worse is the one being stolen from. I've told you this a hundred times, Koichi," Zenigata looked embarrassed and scratched his head, "Yeah you... Yeah you did. Well! I'm going to search the perimeter for anyone suspicious. Are you gonna be okay while I do that?" Sakura wanted to roll her eyes and how adorably cute the two were. She glanced at Jigen, who looked just as disgusted as she was. She fought back a laugh.

"I'll be fine sweetie. Go do your job," Ichika kissed him on the cheek and he left, his face pink, and a big, dopey grin on his face.

"Do you have to act like that in public?" Jigen asked her. Ichika turned and frowned, before her face broke into a grin similar to Lupin's, "You two look cute together. If it weren't for Sakura's natural glare I wouldn't have recognized you."

Sakura blinked in surprise, "C..cute??" Jigen snorted, "She said you basically have resting bitch face and being called cute is what caught you off guard?" Ichika playfully swatted Jigen's arm, "Quit teasing her she's still learning the ropes!" She turned to Sakura, the Lupin-esque grin still there, and for a moment she wondered if Ichika and Lupin could pass as siblings, "You ready to go to see the actual statue? It's just over there," Ichika pointed a finger to the room to her right. She waved at them again as they walked off, "Make sure you act a little more like a couple, Koichi's getting real thorough with checking people!"

Sakura felt her stomach drop a little. How does a couple act? She had vague memories of how her mother and father acted with each other, but they'd been gone for years, and the memories were fuzzy. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Jigen's hand casually fell to her hip, "What the fuck-," she stopped when she saw the statue. It was genuinely a beautiful piece of art, the statue of a beautiful woman adorned in diamonds of various sizes. Something that surprised Sakura was that woman the statue had been modeled to look like had similar features to herself, specifically the nose. Jigen whistled under his breath, "Damn. Too bad Lupin wants to give that to Fujiko. I wouldn't mind keeping that in my room."

"Really? Why? The jewels?" She blinked when he shook his head, "Whoever modeled for this statue was a real looker. Absolute beauty, whoever she was. I don't say that about women very often but just.. Damn."

Sakura felt her heart flutter a little in her chest. He thought the woman the statue was modeled after had been beautiful. She wondered, briefly, what she would feel if he directed the comments toward her.

She found out pretty quick, "Kinda looks like you. I think it's the nose. You have a similar nose shape," he stopped talking when he noticed her face turn bright red as she stared hard into the floor. In a small voice, she said, "Are you saying I'm beautiful, too?"

He stuttered. This was not something had been meaning to do yet, "I well.. Um...," both jumped when their ear pieces turned on, "You two ready to come back?" Lupin's voice sounded a little breathless, like he was trying to recover from a laughing fit.

The two nodded to each other, then muttered a quiet, Yes," and turned to head back. They nearly ran into Ichika and Zenigata, who simply nodded to them and kept walking. Sakura didn't let go of Jigen's arm until they were safely out of the building. When they got to the unmarked van and got in, Sakura pulled the red haired wig off, shaking her light brown hair out, "Why did I have to wear a wig?" she was trying to avoid the conversation of what just happened. Lupin had started laughing again, "Gee Sakura. Your face is as red as the wig!"

Lupin bit his lip and calmed down when he noticed Jigen shake his head slightly. A sign to stop teasing. Wordlessly, Jigen held his hand out for the red wig. Sakura handed it to him, nearly collapsing in the spot when he deliberately moved his hand so his fingers brushed hers. He then threw the wig directly at Lupin's head, "Don't do that again," he threatened. Lupin just grinned at him while Sakura stared in confusion. 

Jigen leaned over to Sakura and softly said, "Forgot to tell you, but asking how to know if you like someone means you most likely do like someone," he then leaned away, placing his hat on his head and pulling a cigarette out, lighting it. Sakura stared at him, dumbfounded.

Did he imply that she liked him or was she reading too much into it?


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura almost forgot about something important. She was pretty sure it was because she’d been distracted lately, and she hadn't been paying attention to the date. Sighing, she sat up, looking outside into the night sky, deliberating on what she should do. Getting out of her bed, she left the room and stopped, wondering if she should say something to the others. Thinking that was the best idea, she headed for the main room, where Lupin and the others were lounging. Fujiko was admiring the statue they’d gotten from the recent heist, Jigen was sprawled on the couch, reading some magazine that Sakura couldn’t see from the angle he was at, Goemon sat in the corner, meditating, and Lupin was sitting near Fujiko, gushing about how pretty she was. Sakura cleared her throat to get his attention.

“Oh, hey Kura! Finally coming to celebrate a successful heist?” Lupin grinned. Sakura shook her head, “As much as I’d love to do that, I have somewhere I need to be for a few days. Personal stuff, I don’t really feel comfortable explaining,” she explained. Lupin nodded in understanding, “Goemon runs off all the time to go do his own thing. You’re allowed to freely move and do what you want. As long as it doesn’t involve betrayal,” he winked. Sakura rolled her eyes and subtly glanced over at Jigen, who hadn’t moved or said anything. Fujiko kicked him, “You’re not gonna say goodbye to your partner? Or did you fall asleep reading your silly magazine?”

“Hey, no need for that,” he grumbled, sitting up. He looked at Sakura, who was again struggling to find out what he might be thinking, “How long are you gonna be gone?” She raised an eyebrow, “A few days. I’m just going to visit my hometown and then come back. It’d be shorter but I lived in Germany, so I have to take a plane,” Jigen nodded and flopped back down on the couch, “Be safe.”

She froze for a moment. Be safe...? That might have been the nicest thing he’d said to her since the weird ingenuous compliment from a day ago. She nodded, muttering, “Sure,” and turned to leave. As she left the room, she heard Lupin muttering something to Jigen that sounded like, “You’re just gonna let her go by herself?” But she wasn’t sure, so she kept walking.

Sakura smiled sadly as she saw an old cabin appear in view. Walking inside, she sat down in one of the old wooden chairs. Breathing a sigh of relief, she rubbed her tired eyes. This was never an easy time for her, being here. She’d been coming to town this time every year for as long as she could remember. Getting up and sighing again, she walked to the window, pulling a cigarette out and lighting it. She nearly dropped her lighter when she saw Jigen at the door.

Walking to the door, she yanked it open before he had a chance to knock, “What the fuck are you doing here?” She glared at him. Jigen held his hands up in defense, “I had a bad feeling about you going off by yourself. Lupin felt the same, so he sent me after you.”

“I’ve been coming to this place by myself for years, Jigen. I can handle myself just fine. I have for a long time before I met you guys,” she huffed. Why was it that after she had joined the gang, Lupin felt the need to pair her and Jigen up in an effort to, “protect” her? She was an assassin, it’s not like she didn’t know how to protect herself. Sighing in frustration, she moved out of the way to let Jigen inside. He stepped in and looked at the modest setup, “Nice place. Is it yours?” He sat down, glancing up at her as she nodded, “My parents’. It was given to me after they died…,” she sat on the worn-down couch, unsure of how much she should say to him.

“So, what’s up with you being here? Some kind of tradition, I guess,” Jigen lit a cigarette, leaning back in the chair as he waited for an answer. Sakura hesitated for a moment, before nodding, “It’s my parents’ wedding anniversary. I come out here every year to celebrate it because they can’t,” she spoke softly, hearing herself talk about this for the first time felt… odd, “They died when I was 10, and I was taken in by another family member who trained me to become an assassin so I could survive and continue the tradition my family started ages ago.”

“You come from a family of assassins?”

She nodded, pulling her butterfly knife out, “This was my dad’s. I don’t know if mom ever knew what he really did, but I was told about it from a young age, because I was supposed to carry on the legacy, you know? And it was a tradition to give a favorite knife to the child of the family. My dad had several knives, but this one was his favorite and he gave it to me on my tenth birthday. He told me everything that day, and promised to train me… But he and my mom died in a car accident a few days later.”

“Damn… I see why you didn’t wanna tell us about this,” Jigen blew some smoke away from them, “So you had a family member train you?”

She nodded again, “My cousin. She’s older than me by a few years, so she’d already had plenty of training. Traditionally, we’re not really supposed to form relationships outside of familial, the bloodline was supposed to actually die with my father and my uncle, per my grandfather’s request, but…,” she gestured to herself, “That kind of failed,” she sighed, leaning back against the couch, “That’s why I was telling you about how I hadn’t been in any relationships. The bloodline is gonna end with me.”

“That’s… pretty heavy, Sakura,” Jigen put his cigarette out in the small ashtray on the table, “What about your cousin?” Sakura looked up at him, “She has no interest in forming relationships either. She stays inside her home. I haven’t seen her in years. She might be dead for all I know at this point… We… kind of had a falling out…,” she sighed, looking at Jigen, “It’s a long story, and I’m not gonna bother you with the details, but the summarized version is I thought the whole ‘bloodline ending with us’ thing was bullshit, and she was very strict in enforcing it, and we ended up vowing to fight to the death if we ever saw each other again. So, I’ve been avoiding her. I don’t want to kill her, and I don’t want her to kill me.”

The two sat in silence for a moment, the air heavy as the sky darkened outside. Sakura stood, heading for the door, “It’s time for me to go visit my parents,” she explained, noticing his questioning look. She looked away, to the door, and said softly, “…Do you want to come with me?”

Jigen silently stood and followed behind her, heading to a small cemetery on the outside of town. When they reached it, Sakura took off to the left, heading toward two small headstones. Jigen glanced over her shoulder, reading what they said, “Henry Wagner, beloved Husband and Father. Ume Wagner, beloved Wife and Mother.”

The walk back to the cabin had been quiet, Jigen wasn’t sure what to say about any of this. He’d learned a lot about Sakura very quickly and he wasn’t sure what he could say to reassure her that it was fine. Unfortunately, before he could say anything positive, he noticed a figure in the nearby forest, pointing a gun at them.

Pushing Sakura to safety, Jigen pulled his gun out and shot at the figure, hitting them in the shoulder. They managed to get away, dropping their gun as they ran off. Sakura glanced in the direction he’d shot at, “What the hell…?”

“C’mon,” he motioned for her to follow him. The two walked over to where the figure had been. Sakura picked up the gun, her brows furrowed, “Why would someone be trying to shoot at us?” She pondered, handing the gun to Jigen. He looked at it, before tucking it away, “Who knows? We should probably get back to your cabin and make sure we aren’t followed.”

The two managed to sneak back to the cabin, watching for anyone suspicious. Safely inside, Sakura sank to the floor, breathing a sigh of relief, “I’ll be heading back probably tomorrow. I usually stay a couple of days to talk to some of the people in town, but if someone’s after me… I don’t want to risk any of the townsfolk getting hurt.”

“We’ll be fine. I don’t want you to leave just because of that,” Jigen waved dismissively, “Whoever they were, I got ‘em pretty good. I don’t think they were expecting anyone to be with you. Guess it’s a good thing I was here after all, huh?” He smirked. Sakura rolled her eyes, “I suppose it’s a good thing you were here. I would have preferred if you hadn’t but… I’m… kind of glad you’re here,” she looked down, slightly embarrassed, “Don’t think that means anything, though, I’m just… I’m trying to get used to the idea of working with people and… having friends? Are… we...?” She wasn’t sure until he shrugged, “Sure. I dunno why we wouldn’t be. You haven’t done anything to make me hate you, and while I’m pretty sure I’ve pissed you off a few times, you haven’t tried to kill me so I guess you don’t hate me either.”

“I don’t hate you,” she responded softly, “Hell I think I prefer you over the other members of your gang,” she chuckled. He grinned, “You mean our gang, and I understand that. They can be kind of a handful sometimes. Sorry if Lupin’s constant flirting gets on your nerves,” Sakura let out a genuine laugh, causing Jigen’s grin to soften into a genuine smile, “I’ve gotten over that already. He knows I’m not interested so it’s become a sort of in-joke. Besides, he flirts with Fujiko way more.”

“You don’t laugh very often, do you?” The ask was sudden and caught Sakura off guard. Glancing at him, and then looking down, “When you go through the kind of stuff I’ve gone through, there’s not much to laugh or smile about.”

“I can understand that. I’ve done my fair share of killing,” Sakura looked at him in surprise, only to place her hand to her forehead and sigh, “I don’t know why I acted like I didn’t know that. You told me about that forever ago,” the conversation ended there, but other, smaller conversations began, as the two started trying to actually get to know one another a little better, talking through the night and into the early hours of the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura awoke with a start. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she must have after talking all night with Jigen. She noticed a blanket was covering her, had he put that on her when she’d fallen asleep? She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

“Oh hey you’re awake,” Jigen’s voice made her jump, had he not slept? “Say, I uh… So, I was looking at your knife cuz you’d dropped it when you fell asleep and this little part popped open. Thought I’d broken it for a second but there’s something in there,” he handed the knife to her. Sakura looked at it through bleary eyes, finally seeing it was a small slip of paper. Pulling it out, she realized it was bigger than originally thought, and she unfolded it to reveal a map, “What the hell…?”

Setting the map on the table, the two looked carefully over it. Sakura blinked in surprise, “Bermuda???” She looked at Jigen, who looked confused, “Why is there a map to Bermuda… in your knife?” Sakura shrugged, unsure. She flipped the paper over, seeing a small note in the corner, “Hey look at this…”

-Sakura, I know you’ll probably find this note someday, after I’m gone. This map is to the very center of the Bermuda Triangle, 20 meters down. There’s a lab. I made several mistakes in my life, and this one might end up killing me. Keep the bloodline alive. At all costs. The lab is full of technology that can create natural weather disasters, and I’ve hopefully stopped everyone who wanted to have the plans go through, but it still needs to be destroyed. Please, Sakura, you have to do it if I haven’t. I’m counting on you, sweet pea. From, your father.

Jigen was frozen as he watched the paper fall from Sakura’s hands, she was trembling, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. He didn’t know what to do as she stood there, fighting tears. Hesitantly, he reached out and grabbed one of her shaking hands, “Hey…,” he said softly, “You’re okay… you can cry about it.”

She crashed into his arms, sobs wracking her body as she clung desperately to him. Awkwardly, Jigen wrapped his arms around her, patting her shoulder occasionally as he mumbled out words of sympathy. When she finally calmed down, she glanced up at him in embarrassment, “Please… never tell Lupin or the others you saw that… I just… I haven’t seen my father’s handwriting in so long…,” she rubbed her eyes, backing away from him. Looking up, she smiled slightly, “Thank you for being here, Jigen. I know I was a little annoyed when you showed up, but it’s probably a very good thing you’re here.”

Jigen’s heart skipped a little at her soft smile. He remembered something Lupin had said, “If she smiles, hold on to that, okay? She doesn’t seem to do it much,” god he hated that Lupin was right. She didn’t smile often, but when she did, it changed her whole face, even when it was a sad smile like the one she wore now.

Picking the map up off the floor, Sakura pointed to some numbers, “There’s a latitude and longitude here, this must be the exact location of the lab. You want to travel to Bermuda with me?” She asked pensively. Jigen nodded, “I gotta let Lupin know we’re doing something, so he doesn’t worry, since you said we were gonna be leaving tomorrow originally.”

Bermuda was pleasant. The temperature was comfortable, the people around seemed relatively nice, and Sakura knew that none of the people here knew who she or Jigen were. She was a little frustrated because the two were low on cash, but it was fine. She’d had less than what they currently had in the past, she knew how to make do. The two managed to get an empty hotel room at the cost of there only being a single bed. After some awkward deliberation, the two decided to sleep in shifts, so they didn’t share the bed at the same time.

After resting, the two snagged a boat and scuba gear to head to the Bermuda triangle’s center. The weather grew dark and stormy as they furthered their venture closer, until they reached the center. The horrible weather seemed to only be around the very center, like the eye of a hurricane. Gearing up, Sakura looked nervously into the water. Jigen caught on to her nervousness and gave her a reassuring grin, “Hey, it’s gonna be fine. I really don’t think anyone’s gonna be down there at this point.”

“I hope you’re right,” she replied, sinking into the water. The two dove down, until Sakura pointed out something unfamiliar. Sitting atop an underwater cliff was a large building, with an entrance that appeared to be able to vacuum out the water. They managed to slide inside, waiting for the water to leave before removing their gear. Apprehensively, Sakura opened the door to the facility and walked inside, Jigen following close behind. The first room to appear had large machinery in it, running frantically and making the room warm and uncomfortable. Sakura walked past it, wondering aloud if that was what caused the strange weather they’d witnessed.

The next room was littered with papers. Sakura picked up a few and read through them, eyes widening as she read them. They talked about strange disappearances over the triangle, leading all the way back to Amelia Earhart, and even further back before her, “Apparently,” Sakura said as she placed the papers on a nearby table, “This facility is a lot older than I realized.”

“Jeez this place has been around since at least the damn 30s,” Jigen muttered, looking at some pictures, “What the hell kind of use could they get out of a place like this?” Sakura shrugged, leaving the room. Jigen grabbed a couple of pictures he saw and followed after her. The two finally found their way to a large, open area, with a glass window to see out into the dark waters surrounding them. Shuddering, Sakura turned away, “We need to blow this place up.”

Jigen nodded and pulled the explosives he’d brought, placing them around the building, “When I hit the button, we’ll have three minutes to get the hell out of here, you ready?” She looked around slowly, before turning to him and nodding. The two made their way to the exit as Jigen pressed the button. Hastily putting their gear back on, they swam quickly back to the surface, feeling the explosion of the building underneath them. Sakura watched in surprise as the dark clouds dissipated around them, leaving clear, blue sky.

When they finally returned to the hotel, they both fell on the bed, exhausted. Sakura turned slightly to look at Jigen, “I thought we were gonna take turns sleeping?” She teased, a small smile forming on her lips. Jigen propped himself up on an elbow, tilting his hat back, “Well I’m too tired to get up at this point, and something tells me you are too. So I think this time can be a bit of an exception.”

“If I wake up and you’re all cuddled up to me I’m slicing your beard off,” Sakura muttered, turning over and trying to fight laughing. Jigen huffed, “You aren’t allowed to do that, you’ll ruin my look!”

They soon found themselves drifting to sleep, but before he fell completely under, Jigen said softly, “Hey… I got something out of that building that I thought you might want,” he tapped her shoulder so she’d turn over. Glancing over at him, she rolled so she was facing him, “What?”

He held up a picture, on it, a picture of a family. The man, somber and tall, had a nose similar to Sakura’s, as well as similar hair color. The woman had the same eyes as Sakura, and was very small next to the taller man. Finally, there was the small child between them, dark eyes full of wonder as she smiled brightly into the camera. Sakura reached forward and grabbed the picture, almost freezing again when Jigen’s fingers brushed against hers, very deliberately this time, before he let go of the picture. She looked at him, tears forming in her eyes as she gave him the biggest smile he’d ever seen from her, “Thank you… For getting this,” she said softly, holding the picture to her chest. He was about to say something, when a new voice he didn’t recognize spoke up.

“Sakura? Is that you?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one has some brief talk about suicidal tendencies, just a warning

“Sakura? Is that you?”

The woman, similar in appearance to Sakura, but with a smaller nose and long, red hair, stood in the doorway. Sakura sat up and looked at her in surprise, “…Adelaide? What are you doing here??” Jigen looked between the two women, not sure what was happening.

Sakura stood, walking over to her slowly, “Have you come to kill me?” She asked softly. Jigen, realization dawning on his face, looked at the other woman. She shook her head, “No I just… happened to be passing by and your door was open. What are you doing here in Bermuda??”

“It’s a long story. Adelaide… You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?” Sakura pressed. She hadn’t seen her cousin in years, and the last time they’d talked, it’d been in a fight, where she vowed to kill Sakura to end the bloodline. Adelaide sighed, “I needed to get away. Bermuda seemed like the right idea. My father told me about it, said this was where all of the Wagner family would come to think, to get away…”

Sakura frowned. Something didn’t feel right, but she was happy to see her cousin, “Why haven’t you…?” Her cousin raised a hand to stop her, “I was so irrationally upset when we spoke last. I’m… sorry, Sakura. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you the way I did. Grandfather’s words were just incredibly influential to me and I should have known better.”

Jigen stood, coming protectively behind Sakura, “You must be her cousin. The one who trained her to be an assassin?” Adelaide looked at him, then back to Sakura, “Who’s this?” Sakura waved a hand in his direction, “He’s called Jigen, an expert marksman. He never misses a shot. He’s also a cantankerous man but he’s a little better once you get to know him.”

“Cantankerous?” Jigen snorted. Adelaide smiled warmly at him, “Well it’s nice to meet someone Sakura seems to care deeply for.”

Both Sakura and Jigen felt their faces get hot, “It’s not like that Addy,” Sakura mumbled. Jigen pushed his hat down further over his eyes to hide his embarrassment when Adelaide replied, “You two were lying on a bed together so I just assumed…”

“I promise, we’re just business partners and friends,” Sakura explained. Adelaide’s smile seemed slightly forced to Jigen, but Sakura didn’t notice, “Business partners?”

“Yeah I… May have kind of given up the assassin business and joined a gang of thieves… It pays better, and it’s… kind of nice to work with other people,” Sakura had started to visibly relax, but Jigen kept his guard up. Something about Adelaide seemed off, and he didn’t want to say anything for fear of being wrong. The last thing he needed was Sakura getting pissed at him for being accusatory.

Adelaide smiled again, still seeming forced, “We should really catch up. It sounds like the two of us have a lot we missed. Your ‘friend’ can come too, if he wants,” Sakura looked up at Jigen, who shrugged, “If I stay in here I’ll just fall asleep and I’d rather not do that right now.”

\--

Adelaide walked in front of the two, and Jigen narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed how one of her arms wasn’t moving as much as the other. He leaned over to Sakura, “Did something happen to her arm?” He asked softly. She looked ahead of her at her cousin, brow furrowing, “Could be possible. We both worked as assassins, so she could have gotten injured on the job…,” she replied. Unease was beginning to set in as she noticed some bandaging barely peeking out of Adelaide’s shirt.

Adelaide suddenly stopped walking, causing Sakura and Jigen to nearly bump into her. Sakura took the time to notice they had travelled to a secluded area full of trees, away from the bustling town they’d been in. Sakura was about to ask what happened, when she felt Jigen’s hand on her arm, “I think we’ve been set up, Kura,” he said coldly.

Adelaide turned, a small knife in her hand, “Listen here, you stay out of this, ok? This is between me and Sakura,” she glared at her, “This would have been a little easier if your gun wielding friend hadn’t been here. But I want this to happen between us.”

“So, you literally just lied to our faces so you could get us alone. You really haven’t changed at all,” Sakura pulled her butterfly knife out, swinging it open as she glared coldly at Adelaide. Jigen took a step, but Sakura held a hand out, “No this is between us, she’s right. Let me do this.”

Nodding, unsure, Jigen stepped away, giving the two space. Sakura ran forward, swiping at her cousin, who dodged easily, “That wound, you were the one Jigen shot a few days back, aren’t you?” Sakura asked, angry. Adelaide smirked, “Too bad he was protecting you, if he hadn’t been, you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Jigen glared. He wanted to help, but he knew that Sakura could hold her own. He had his hand on his gun, though, just in case, “Sakura. We can’t live, you know that. Grandpa wanted the bloodline to end with our fathers, but they were weak and fell. I haven’t been weak, like you have,” Adelaide pointedly looked at Jigen, “When I kill you, your friend is next.”

Sakura ran forward again, swiping at Adelaide and slicing her arm. She cried out in pain, jumping away, “What happened to what I taught you?” She growled. Sakura smirked, “It’s easier to make sure I can disarm you before hitting anything vital.”

This went on for several minutes, the two covered in cuts. Adelaide yelled in frustration, “Have you always been this stubborn?” Sakura’s smirk grew, “You should know that. But I have a question,” she dodged another of Adelaide’s attacks, “Why does our grandpa want the bloodline to die?”

“We are a cursed family. Doomed to be thieves and killers because of a mistake. If the bloodline dies, the curse lifts,” Adelaide huffed, wiping some blood from her face, “Retribution for our sins,” she reached behind her and pulled out a gun, “I’m done playing games.”

Sakura froze, “You cheating bitch!” She yelled. Adelaide held the gun up, “I’m tired, Sakura. Of all of this. I’m tired of the urge to fight, steal, kill. I’m tired of all of it. When I kill you and your friend, I’m killing myself so the bloodline will finally die.”

Jigen called out to Sakura, throwing his gun at her while Adelaide talked. Sakura caught it, looking sadly at her cousin, “I think you’re wrong. I don’t think there’s a curse.”

“You’re a part of a gang, Sakura. A thief, a murderer, a fighter,” Adelaide said softly, “How can you say there’s no curse.”

Sakura aimed the gun, “Fine. Then on three, we shoot together,” she replied, equally soft, “Jigen stays safe. He has no part in this.”

Adelaide smiled, “Soft to the end, Sakura,” there were two gunshots, and Adelaide fell to the ground, a shot to her head. Sakura gripped her arm, blood oozing from the gunshot wound. Jigen ran over to her, sitting her on the ground, “Jesus Christ Sakura what the hell…”

“Ow, fuck.. I’m fine. She didn’t hit anything vital…,” Sakura grunted, looking over at her fallen cousin. She looked somber, “I want to bury her. She didn’t deserve this fate. Neither of us did,” trying to stand, Sakura stumbled, tears forming in her eyes, “Jigen… help…,” she begged in a quiet voice. Jigen grabbed her, “Let me get your arm wrapped first and we’ll bury her, you’re losing blood.”

She sat there, trying not to look at the body as Jigen dressed the wound, “Shit… I need to dig the bullet out…,” he said softly. Looking around, he picked up a stick, “Bite down on this, I feel like you’re not gonna like this.”

She bit on the stick, her eyes wandering to her cousin’s body again. Feeling drained away, leaving her numb as Jigen worked on pulling the bullet out, “I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to do this,” He muttered, finally pulling it out, “But if I didn’t, you could’ve been in worse shape,” he started working on cleaning the wound, thankful he had some medical supplies in his jacket pocket. Sakura said nothing, staring at the dead body near them. Once the wound was taken care of, Sakura stood on shaky feet, ambling over to the body. Jigen walked over and picked the body up, “Can you walk or do you need help?” He asked her as gently as possible. She shook her head, “I’m fine, can we bury her under that large tree?”

Jigen set the body down nearby, then looked around for something to help dig the hole with. To his surprise, a makeshift shovel was nearby, and he looked at the corpse, “Seems like she’d planned on someone dying today.”

After burying her in the hole, Jigen helped Sakura to her feet again, as she’d fallen to the ground, “We need to get you to a hospital,” he murmured. Sakura struggled to argue, but the blood loss was making her light headed, and she was fairly certain she was in shock, so she resigned herself to being picked up by the gunman and carried back into town.

\--

Sakura leaned softly against the pillows, “How many times are you gonna come to my rescue, Jigen?”

He chuckled, “Someday you’ll return the favor and come to my rescue, instead,” he took his hat off, brushing his bangs out of his eyes, “You passed out for a second, on the way in here. They thought you were dead, but you came to in a weird fit of delirium. Liked to have given the doctor a heart attack.”

She chuckled, wincing slightly at the pain in her arm, “Did they give me stitches?” She asked. Jigen nodded, “I called Lupin, by the way. He and the others are coming up here to get us the hell out of here once you’re well. I think you’re gonna need some actual R&R after this.”

She sighed, “I just want to get back to work, honestly,” looking down at her hand, she noticed Jigen’s fingers drumming against the bed nervously. She reached over and grabbed his hand, “Hey… I’m pretty sure I shot your gun wrong. My whole body hurts from the recoil,” she mumbled. Jigen sighed, his fingers intertwining with hers, “Yeah you kinda did, but your aim was on point, so that didn’t matter in the end.”

Sakura was silent for a moment, before saying softly, “Do you think she wanted to die?” Jigen looked at her in surprise, “I don’t know anyone who genuinely wants to die. I know they’re out there, but I don’t know if that’s what she wanted…”

"I feel like she wanted to die. She was going to kill herself after killing me. I don't know exactly why, but I think she ended up just completely thinking the same thing our grandfather thought...," Sakura sighed, gripping Jigen's hand a little tighter. He said nothing, instead just waiting for her to speak again.

“…Do you think my family’s cursed like she says?”

“I doubt it. I think your grandpa sounds like a wackjob who should’ve gotten some help if he thought his family was cursed.”

“Wackjob?” That got a small smile to form on Sakura’s face. Jigen grinned at her, “Maybe that term’s a bit rude. But he might have been really paranoid or something.”

“Jigen?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for letting me shoot your gun," she moved slightly, some of her hair falling in front of her eyes. Jigen absentmindedly reached forward with his free hand and moved the hair away, tucking it behind her ear, "Don't mention it," he replied. The two sat there for a moment, staring at each other silently, tension filling the air. Jigen leaned away, "I probably need to let you rest some. I think you can finally rest easier, knowing no one's gonna try to kill you anymore."

Her face warm, Sakura just nodded. Jigen slowly released her hand, as if reluctant to let go, and left the room, placing his hat back on and waving, "I'll be out here," when he left, Sakura leaned back against the bed pillows again, her fingers brushing where Jigen's fingers had touched. She felt her face grow from warm to hot and shut her eyes. This might be a problem, but she didn't want to think about it right now. Instead, eyes still shut, she felt sleep creeping in on her.


	7. Chapter 7

“I want to visit my grandfather’s grave,” Sakura said. Everyone turned to her in surprise, “This is the same grandfather who wanted you and your cousin to kill yourselves, right?” Lupin asked, “Why do you wanna go there?”

“I hope you’re not going to desecrate it,” Fujiko said, “I feel like that would really curse you,” Sakura shook her head, “I’m not gonna do anything bad. I just… feel like I need to.”

“Visiting your relative’s tomb will give you a sense of closure,” Goemon said, his voice calm and stoic, “Do you wish for us to accompany you?”

“I was uh.. gonna ask Jigen to go with me, but you guys can come too if you want,” Sakura mumbled. Truth be told, she hoped they would turn her down. Ever since the hospital incident, Sakura had been trying to find excuses to be alone with Jigen. She wanted whatever was causing that tension to come back. But since Lupin came to get them and bring them home, she hardly had a chance to be alone with Jigen.

Lupin grinned, leaning forward on his knees, “You gonna make it a date or something? That’s kinda morbid, Kura,” he started snickering when he saw her face turn red, “No that’s ridiculous. I just… He’s kinda been the one that helped me out with all this shit, I thought it’d be appropriate if he helped me out again. Moral support, I guess?”

Lupin and Fujiko shared a knowing look, “Ok. Jigen will go with you, and we’ll stay here. No intention of following you to spy on you and see if you two get all cutesy or romantic or- OW!” Fujiko elbowed Lupin in the stomach, waving his wording away, “Don’t listen to him. You and Jigen go and I’ll make sure Lupin doesn’t do anything stupid!”

“Thanks Fujiko,” as intimidated as she was by her, Sakura had to admit that sometimes Fujiko really helped with Lupin’s… everything. Sighing, she walked out of the room to go talk to Jigen.

\--

With Sakura out of the room, Fujiko grabbed Lupin by the collar of his jacket, “What the hell are you doing?” She hissed. Lupin grinned, “Why Fujicakes, haven’t you noticed that Sakura has a little crush on our handsome gunman?” Fujiko rolled her eyes, “Of course I noticed. She gets all flustered when he talks to her. But why are you playing matchmaker when-,” Lupin cut her off, “I know, I know. But listen, I think it’d be a good idea if the two of them started dating. Jigen seems like he might be interested, too.”

“You really need to stop playing matchmaker all the time, Lupin,” Goemon stood from his spot in the corner, walking over to the group, “Besides, Sakura might start to suspect that-,” Lupin shushed him, “I’m hoping Jigen plays it smart and tells her first, because if he doesn’t… I feel like she’d be pretty upset. He wouldn’t be that stupid, though, right?” Fujiko looked at him, raising an eyebrow, “This is Jigen you’re talking about. Do you know how long it took for him to admit he actually liked me?”

“Or me, for that matter,” Goemon stated. Lupin shrugged, “Listen, guys, he at least admitted it to us eventually. Now we’re a big happy group. Besides, maybe she might end up liking us that way, too.”

“I doubt it. I flirted with her yesterday and she didn’t even acknowledge it, she just kept looking outside at Jigen shooting his gun,” Fujiko sighed, “Seems she only has eyes for him. Reminds me of how Ichika acts around Zenigata,” Goemon said. Lupin sighed, leaning back on the couch, “Ah to be new in love all over again, those confusing feelings of passion and uncertainty.”

\--

“You want me to go with you?” Jigen looked surprised. Sakura held her hands behind her back, a nervous habit she’d picked up recently, “Yeah I uh… Thought it’d be nice having someone close come with me.”

“Why not Lupin or Goemon? Or even Fujiko?” Jigen tipped his hat back, getting a good look at how she was acting. Looking away nervously, she muttered, “They don’t know the whole story like you do. I want to go to my grandfather’s grave for closure, but I also have a lot of questions that need to be answered…”

“Like what happened to your parents?” He asked quietly. Sakura blinked in surprise, “Well that’s part of it. I feel like he could have been involved in their death, but I’m not sure,” Jigen was about to interrupt her when she stepped closer, her eyes burning holes into him, “I can’t have the others go with me because I might get emotional again and you’re the only one who’s seen me that way!”

Jigen’s heart skipped. Dammit, he hated that he was feeling like this. He really needed to talk to Lupin about this before he did something he’d regret. Last thing he needed was anyone upset with him for not talking about his damn feelings… Again.

Sakura waved a hand in front of his face, “Hey, earth to Sharpshooter. You thinking about guns or something, what was that?” He blinked in surprise, confused that he’d basically spaced out, “I uh… Yeah I’ll go with you.”

“Oh! Well, uh… great. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

\--

The flight was quiet, thankfully. Jigen occasionally stole glances at Sakura while she read her books. Occasionally they would have a quiet conversation, but it never lasted long.

After leaving the airport, the two took a cab to a nearby hotel on the outskirts of the large, German city they were staying in. Jigen didn’t know where anything was, but Sakura walked around like she’d lived there for years. She spoke German fluently, and it was the first time he was aware that when she spoke to him, she had a slight accent. He kind of liked it.

She thanked the hotel clerk, handing Jigen the key to their room, “I’ll be back, I have to go visit someone, but when I come back, we’ll go to the cemetery nearby,” she waved and left the building, leaving Jigen alone in the lobby.

“So how do you know her?” The clerk asked. Jigen turned in surprise, not expecting him to speak to him, “I uh… We’re.. we’re uh… friends,” he grumbled. The clerk laughed, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Sakura’s just an old friend to the people who work here, she came here all the time as a child, so it’s nice seeing her again.”

Jigen had felt jealousy over someone before, but he hadn’t in a while, and it was messing with him. This clerk guy knew Sakura, fairly well, too. He knew it was stupid to be jealous, he hadn’t really confirmed how he was feeling toward her, but this wasn’t helping. He went to the room and opened the door, trying to ignore the fact that once again there was only one bed. Jigen placed his hat over his face as he fell onto the bed. He really needed to talk to Lupin when they got back. He supposed they could talk now. There was a phone in here. He sat up and reached for the phone, stopping before he actually touched it.

Why was he hesitating? He heard movement outside the door, and pulled his hand away. A knock, “Hey it’s me,” he breathed a sigh of relief hearing Sakura’s voice. Opening the door, he saw her standing there with an arrangement of flowers, “I thought it’d be a good idea to get these for my grandfather. I know he wanted to kill us but still…”

\--

Sakura stood in front of the tomb of her grandfather, Jigen stood off a little distance away, smoking from under a tree. He felt giving her space was the best option right now. She pressed a hand to the large tomb, looking up at it silently. She saw the death date and looked at it, puzzled, “Hey Jigen, come here.”

Jigen walked over, looking up at what she was looking at, “What’s up?” She pointed at the death date, “Does that look weird to you? Like it was hastily tacked on?” Jigen tilted his hat back to get a better look, “I think you’re right. You mind if I..?” He held his gun up. Nodding, she said, “Go for it.”

He shot the sign, the false date falling to the ground and revealing the true date. Her eyes widened, “That’s… That can’t be right,” she said, horrified. Jigen tilted his hat down, his voice soft, “I knew it…”

The true death date was the exact same date as her parents’ death. Sakura fell to the ground, her body growing cold. Jigen jumped slightly before bending down onto one knee, his hand hovering over her shoulder. She placed her hands over her face, “He… this whole time… I never… I knew he wanted to…,” she couldn’t get a sentence out, leaning heavily against Jigen as she tried to gather her thoughts. Jigen sat there, trying to comfort her as best he could, placing his arms around her as he softly murmured reassurances to her. He was never good at this kind of thing, but he felt like all she needed right now was comfort.

The two sat like that till it began to get dark. Sakura leaned up to look at Jigen, who was trying to look anywhere except at her, “This is why I wanted you to come with me,” she said softly, leaning back against him. His face was burning now, “You knew about your gramps..?”

“No, not exactly. I just… had a feeling I’d need someone to help me emotionally. You’ve been pretty good at that so far,” her face was too close to his and he was trying not to panic. She wasn’t even trying anything, just laying her face comfortably against his neck. Sighing, she finally leaned away and stood, “Come on, let’s get back to the hotel and we’ll head back tomorrow.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go folks, big angsty bit followed by another big angsty bit.

A puff of smoke left Sakura as she sat outside. She really thought they had something. How stupid could she have been? Crushing the cigarette on the fencing in front of her, she could overhear Lupin, Fujiko, and Goemon yelling at Jigen. Yelling about how he should have told her by now, only for him to reiterate that they could have told her at any time, too.

Jigen was polyamorous, and he seemed to be in a relationship with Lupin, Fujiko, and Goemon, judging from the rather awkward romantic moment Sakura had walked in on. She was pretty sure she saw the signs, but she’d been stupid and ignored them, thinking there was a chance that maybe he… Frustrated, she pulled out another cigarette, lighting it, and inhaling. The yelling stopped. Ichika was here now, too. The yelling started again, this time her specifically. Sakura barely heard it, “…Should have told her about this! Now it looks like you’ve been leading her on!” Yeah, it ‘looks’ like it, like that’s not what happened.

Sakura stood up and walked away from the fence, walking inside the building. She froze when they yelling suddenly stopped and everyone looked at her. Discomfort rising, she hurriedly walked past them, ignoring them calling out to her desperately. She wanted, no, NEEDED, to be alone right now. She left the house, tears threatening to fall as she ran. There was a forest nearby, she’d go there for a while. Goemon usually does that. She winced when she thought about Goemon. He was the least offensive of the group but even he was in a relationship with… She stopped herself, pulling her knife out and slashing a nearby tree.

She looked at it, and then to her knife. Gripping it tightly, she threw it at the tree, watching it stick into the rough bark. She let out a strangled yell as she sank to the ground. Fuck this stupid emotional bullshit, she decided. She was going to close herself off emotionally again. That’s the last time she lets someone in like that.

\--

“You need to go find her, she’s been gone for hours,” Lupin told Jigen. Jigen had his head in his hands, “Last person she wants to see is me, I’m pretty sure. You do it.”

“Jigen you’re being an idiot about this,” Fujiko frowned, “You know that she probably doesn’t want to talk to any of us, too, you know.”

Jigen groaned in frustration, “Yeah well I’m the one she was interested in, so if anyone SHOULDN’T go find her, it’s me!” Ichika rolled her eyes, “You’re being ridiculous, I’ll go.”

“I will accompany you,” Goemon stood, “I believe I might know where she went. Jigen, I suggest ‘pulling yourself together’ as one would say. Lupin, Fujiko. We’ll be back.”

Goemon and Ichika left, leaving Jigen, Lupin, and Fujiko alone to gather their thoughts.

\--

After being gone for hours, Sakura, Ichika, and Goemon returned. Sakura stared dully at the group, before straightening herself up, “I apologize for running off like that. You don’t have to worry about that happening again.”

Goemon looked concernedly at the others, Ichika chewing on her bottom lip, “I’m gonna go home,” she said, “I think I’ve seen enough drama for one day.”

Jigen noticed Sakura refused to look at him, which hurt, but he felt that was something he probably deserved. Goemon sat in his corner, meditating, “She is going to need time,” he said calmly as she left the room, “She completely demolished a tree with just her butterfly knife. Jigen,” he turned to look at him, “Give her some time, and when she is ready, talk to her.”

Jigen sighed, his head falling into his hands again, “God I fucked up,” Lupin and Fujiko looked at each other before coming to comfort him, “Listen, Jigen,” Lupin started, “When she’s ready, we’re all gonna sit down and talk with her ok? It’s gonna be fine.”

“Lupin you don’t get it. I know so much about her now. She let her walls down emotionally for me and I turned around and fucked it up by not telling her about us outright. And that’s fucked up on both ends because it was me basically keeping this,” he waved his hand at the others, “A damn secret.”

“While it’s true that… that was kind of messed up,” Fujiko said, her head resting on his shoulder, “You were worried about scaring her away, right? I’m pretty sure she was mostly angry you didn’t tell her, not necessarily that the four of us are in a relationship.”

Sighing in frustration, Jigen looked off in the direction of Sakura’s room. Lupin and Fujiko looked over him at each other worriedly, before hugging him again.

\--

Things were tense for several days. Fujiko went out of her way to avoid Sakura, wanting to give her some space. Lupin tried to act like nothing was wrong, failing miserably and resigning himself to planning for an upcoming heist, Goemon went off to meditate for a while, needing some time to think, and Sakura went out into the forest to continue letting some anger out on a poor, innocent tree.

“Ok,” Lupin said, “I have a plan set up for an upcoming heist,” he paused when Sakura walked into the room, grinning hopefully at her, “Hey, you up for a heist?”

The group waited, Jigen didn’t turn to look at her, but silently breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her say, “Yeah. What’s your plan?”

She came over and sat by Fujiko, who looked incredibly uncomfortable but said nothing. Lupin started explaining the situation, talking about some strange building that had a lot of money, but was guarded like Fort Knox, and would be incredibly dangerous. Sakura was grateful things seemed to be going back to normal, in a way, and was also grateful to be getting back to work, knowing a distraction would be good for everyone.

Sakura went to gather some essentials for the heist, when Lupin stopped by her, “Hey, Sakura, can we uh… talk for a minute?”

“If this is about Jigen, no,” she replied, unfolding her knife quickly to inspect it, not seeing Lupin go slightly pale, “No… I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”

That surprised her, causing her to look up at him, “Why?” He shrugged, “Regardless of drama happening amongst us, you’re part of the gang, and you’re still my friend. I know this has been… kind of a crappy situation for you. Just uh, just know if you wanna talk to anyone, you can talk to me about anything,” he smiled reassuringly at her. Grateful, but trying not to show it, she nodded, “…Thanks, Lupin. Really.”

Lupin nodded and left the room, glancing at Jigen as he sat on the couch, looking lost in thought. Frowning, Lupin continued walking, going to prepare for the heist. He had a good feeling about this

\--

His good feeling had been incredibly wrong. Lupin ran ahead of the others, checking back every now and then to make sure they were okay. Fujiko tripped at one point, shattering her ankle, and causing her to tumble forward. Lupin raced back to her, picking her up as quick as possible as they continued running, bullets shooting past in a hectic frenzy.

Sakura threw one of her extra knives, catching one of the gunmen shooting them. Jigen pulled his magnum out, hitting three different people. He pushed Sakura forward, making sure she didn’t get hit. Goemon disappeared and reappeared at random moments, having sliced through several other shooters.

Finally, the bullets stopped, the group managing to get away. Sakura had moved forward and was moving next to Lupin now, breathing hard from the excessive running.

“Ok, so that didn’t exactly go as planned,” Lupin said quietly. He looked at Fujiko, “You okay?” She sniffed, “I’m fine. My ankle hurts. Let’s just get out of here and get to a hospital.”

The group continued walking, the silence in the air was deafening. Lupin started rambling about how they’d regroup and get back together after Fujiko’s ankle healed, when Sakura suddenly pushed him out of the way. There was a crack, and she fell to the ground, blood pooling around her. Fujiko screamed, and Goemon disappeared. Jigen ran toward quickly, picking Sakura up, “No, no no no…,” he muttered frantically. He sighed in relief; she was breathing, the bullet hadn’t punctured anything life threatening. Lupin turned to him, “C’mon we gotta hurry and get her into a hospital before it’s too late.”

The group ran, finally escaping the building. Jigen tried to ignore the blood trickling down from the unconscious woman in his arms. Zenigata had been waiting for them, but instead of arresting them, he saw the two injured women, and called for an ambulance. Lupin thanked him, telling him he “owed him one,” and the group made their way to the hospital in silence.


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura took in her surroundings. She was aware of a faint pain on her torso, as well as what felt like things attached to her arms. She wanted to sit up, and began to, when a hand gently pushed her back down, “Hey, you’re gonna rip the tubes out if you sit up like that.”

Jigen.

“What… happened?” She asked him quietly. He looked exhausted, his hat was resting on the counter behind him, and even with his bangs in his face, she could see the relief in his eyes that she was awake, “You were out cold for three days. Do you remember getting shot?”

She jolted slightly at the memory that popped up, the man with the gun who had been aiming at Lupin, Sakura pushing him and Fujiko out of the way, the sudden pain, blackness as she seemed to fall into a void.

“Where are the others?” She wanted to sit up again, but Jigen kept a firm hand on her shoulder, “Fujiko’s getting discharged in a few days. Broken ankle. Zenigata’s nearby but he’s not doing anything until everyone’s recovered, so Lupin’s kind of lying low until then. Goemon’s staying with Fujiko until she’s discharged. I’m staying here until you’re discharged.”

“You’re staying here..?” She seemed confused. Wasn’t he mad that she’d been kind of avoiding him, “Why?”

Jigen looked a little embarrassed, but answered steadily, “Because I care about you and almost had a freaking heart attack when you got shot.”

She noticed he wasn’t wearing his jacket, and glanced behind him, spotting it and noticing dark something staining the sleeves. Had he… had he carried her out of that building? She assumed he must have, otherwise Goemon would have, or she would have been left there. She looked back at him, her eyes questioning, “You still… even after how I acted when I found out about-?”

“You had every right to be pissed off, Sakura,” he muttered, “I was… ah dammit this is hard to admit, but I was… I guess scared? That you wouldn’t accept me, or us really, once you found out. I shouldn’t have kept that part of myself from you. Especially considering you’ve managed to worm yourself under my skin way too easily and I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Her face felt warm, “But if you’re in a relationship… why…?” She didn’t know how to ask what she was thinking, but Jigen seemed to know what she wanted to say, “I talked to the others about it, and they seem supportive of me having a relationship outside of the group relationship. Goemon’s engaged to Murasaki, and she’s not dating all of us, just Goemon.”

“Wait really?” The realization caught her off guard. Was Jigen telling her he liked her? He smiled warmly at her, a rare sight considering his usual smile was more of a cocky grin. Sakura’s heart skipped a beat, he hadn’t smiled at her like that in a while and it was really catching her off guard. Leaning back in his chair, Jigen nodded, “Yeah, I could’ve sworn someone told you about her. Goemon was uh, a lot smarter about telling her about the poly stuff. She was pretty cool with it.”

“I’d have been fine with it if you had just told me upfront,” Sakura mumbled, “I was a little caught off guard by it sure, but it was amplified by the fact that I was kinda tricked into thinking you were just a single guy instead of someone in a relationship with three other people.”

“I can’t apologize enough for that. I’m sorry I tricked you like that. You should have been told upfront and that’s my own damn fault,” Jigen leaned forward, “Someday I hope you can forgive me for that. I do really like you.”

Her face was surely red now. He was so blunt sometimes, “I… well…,” she looked at her hands, “Give me a little time and… We’ll see, okay?” Jigen smiled again, “Sure. I just want us to at least get back to being friends, if anything.”

“That’d be okay,” she said softly. Her heart ached a little, she wanted to tell him she liked him too, but she didn’t want to tell him until she was sure he meant it when he said how he felt about her. That might take some time.

\--

She was getting used to being around everyone again, like nothing had changed. Sometimes she’d walk in on Lupin clinging to Jigen romantically and she’d just leave the room, giving them space. It didn’t bother her now. She’d just go and visit Goemon. She tried to talk with Fujiko but Sakura realized that seemed kind of futile. She was pretty sure Fujiko didn’t like her, but she couldn’t be sure.

One day, while talking with Goemon, she asked him about Murasaki, “How come I haven’t met her yet?”

Goemon’s face turned pink, apparently just the thought of his fiancé made him embarrassed, “She lives at home, far away from here. I do not like the idea of her being in danger. Why do you ask?”

“Jigen and I were talking when I was in the hospital about how she’s only in a relationship with you, and not everyone. I don’t know why I keep thinking about it, I guess I was just trying to wrap my head around it.”

“She’s rather monogamous, Sakura. She is playful and teases with the others, but ultimately she only has eyes for me,” he sounded embarrassed by that fact, causing Sakura to chuckle, “You must really like her if she has you all flustered like that.”

“She’s very important to me. I assume it is similar to how important you are to Jigen,” he said softly. It was Sakura’s turn to flush red, as she looked down at her hands resting in her lap, “Do you think he feels that way?”

“He hasn’t shut up about you since you got out of the hospital,” Lupin’s voice broke her out of her thoughts, he grinned at her, “Sure I can quiet him down sometimes, but he really wants to make things official with you, I think. I mean, it’s up to you, ultimately, if you wanna go through with the whole thing. But he really does seem interested in you.”

“Thanks, you’re not helping,” Sakura laughed, “I just saw you two entangled in each other’s arms a moment ago.”

“Oh that? Well I was trying to be romantic, but Jigen saw you and got concerned, he wanted to check on you. I told him I would instead cuz he stood up and then froze in place. I think he got embarrassed that he was so worried about you. He’s probably still standing in there,” Lupin laughed. Sakura frowned, “And you just left him in there? You dumb monkey,” she teased, walking past him. Lupin just laughed some more, leaning on Goemon as Sakura walked back into the house.

Jigen was sitting on the couch again, tapping his foot anxiously. Sakura stepped into the room and saw him jump up, “Oh hey uh…,” he looked flustered. Sakura just sighed, a small smile on her face as she walked over to him and grabbed his hand, the two sitting on the couch. Jigen thought he was going to die; she hadn’t let go of his hand yet. He slowly intertwined his long fingers with hers, waiting to see what she did next. She looked like she was thinking about something, and the longer she stayed quiet, the more Jigen’s anxiety grew.

“I think we should try dating,” Sakura finally said. Releasing a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, he looked at her in surprise, “Are you sure you wanna do that?”

“Yeah I think so. I mean… Goemon said you like me the way he likes Murasaki, and they’re in a relationship outside of the poly group you guys are in, so maybe… this could work?” She looked a little apprehensive, “I’ve never been in a legitimate relationship so everything seems pretty fucking confusing to me as it is, so I suppose the only way to do anything about it is to actually try.”

Jigen nodded solemnly, but slowly a grin broke out on his face as he squeezed her hand. Sakura, cautious as always, gently rested her head on his shoulder, “Are we actually doing this right?”

“I’d say it’s a step in the right direction,” he muttered.


	10. Chapter 10

Lupin was confused over hearing Jigen and Sakura arguing with each other. He wondered for a moment if Jigen had done something to make her angry again, they seemed to be arguing over the silliest things lately. Cautiously walking into the room, he noticed Sakura glaring up at Jigen, really reminding Lupin that she was the shortest person in the gang, and Jigen staring back, his arms folded as he tapped his foot.

“For the last time Jigen,” Sakura placed her hands on her hips, “You’ve cooked three nights in a row! I want a turn!” Jigen smirked and poked her forehead as she moved closer, keeping her away from him, “No way. I cooked before you got here, I’m gonna keep cooking.”

She was about to jump at him when Lupin cleared his throat, causing both to back away from each other, embarrassed, “Lovers’ quarrel?” Lupin teased. Sakura frowned, “Lupin, tell our boyfriend to let me cook tonight, he won’t listen to me.”

Lupin’s face broke out into a big grin, “You said our-,”

“I know I said our, don’t get sappy on me,” she interrupted, “Just talk some sense into him!” She pointed at Jigen, who huffed, “What makes you think Lupin’s gonna get through to me? I’m stubborn as hell.”

“Ah, Jigen you’re not that stubborn,” Lupin laughed, “Honestly it kinda feels like you two kind of… like arguing with each other. You don’t usually fight when I want to cook,” he raised an eyebrow in question. Jigen’s face turned red, “Geez alright… Sakura can cook tonight I guess.”

Sakura would have beamed if she felt like smiling. Instead she was staring between Lupin and Jigen incredulously. Jigen muttered something about needing to smoke and left the room. Sakura, now alone with Lupin, decided to get started cooking for the evening. Lupin slid over to help, “He thinks you’re cute when you’re angry, I think.”

“What the fuck are you… Do you mean the arguing thing?” She looked at him in confusion. He nodded, taking some food and cutting it without even looking, “Oh yeah. He does these specific things when he finds something cute about any of us. Holding Goemon’s hand sends him into a blushing frenzy, Fujiko gets flustered with soft displays of affection, like a kiss on the forehead, and me…,” Lupin grinned, “I can’t share that, I don’t think you’d wanna know,” Sakura’s face burned slightly at the thought of whatever lewd thing Lupin might not be telling her, “But considering this is the third or fourth argument I’ve heard between you two this week where he’s been riling you up over small, inconvenient things… I’d say he found what makes you ‘cute’ to him!”

“You think he thinks me being angry is cute..?” Sakura didn’t sound so sure, but Lupin nodded seriously, “Listen, he was playfully pushing you back with just his fingers against your forehead. He looked like he wanted to kiss you or something.”

Sakura slowly placed the knife she was cutting something with down and turned to him, “You think he wanted to kiss me?” Her voice was small, almost embarrassed. Lupin’s eyes widened, “Wait… you two haven’t kissed yet? How long have you two been dating at this point?? A couple months? I’d already slept with the guy at this point!” She glared at him for a moment, before smirking and picking up the knife, stabbing the cutting board, causing Lupin to jump, “I mean… Listen, you should just go for it and kiss him. Or wait till you get into another silly argument and go for it then. If he acts like that was weird just tell him it was a moment of passion or something,” Lupin waved a hand in the air as he laughed. Sakura frowned, “Okay… But I don’t know what else we’d argue about.”

“Oh, trust me, he’ll think of something,” Lupin chuckled. Sakura stared down at the food while she finished preparing it, wondering when her next “argument” with Jigen would be.

The next argument came pretty quick actually. It was over a movie. The others had all gone off to do their own things, Goemon went off by himself to meditate, Lupin and Fujiko left to go stake out a place the gang was looking at stealing some paintings from, leaving Jigen and Sakura by themselves.

It started out normal, Jigen suggesting they watch something, Sakura agreeing, only to mention not wanting to watch anything too full of action. She got enough of that in her job, sometimes a small little slice of life type movie was a nice way to relax. Jigen, however, seemed to take this as an opportunity to argue.

“Jigen, I don’t want to argue after we literally argued like three hours ago,” Sakura sat up on the couch, frowning. Jigen simply smirked and walked over, bending down so his face was level with her, “I let you cook, why don’t you let me have this?”

She glared back at him, tilting his hat back so she could see his eyes, “No. We deal with enough as it is, one evening where you watch a calm movie isn’t gonna kill you.”

He grinned, still having the higher ground. Sakura remembered back to what Lupin said, that Jigen might find her anger “cute” and got an idea. Still glaring, she grabbed his tie and pulled him close, crashing her lips against his. He was caught off guard for a moment, but grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer, kissing back. She broke away first, her face burning, “Do you think making me angry is… cute, or something?”

He burst out laughing, “You know, I was wondering when you were gonna say something. But uh, no, I don’t find it cute,” he leaned a little closer so his mouth was near her ear, “I do think it’s kind of hot, though.”

He leaned away, walking over and picking up the movie she suggested, put it in, and walked back over to her. He pulled her into a hug as he sat by her, still laughing to himself. Sakura’s face was on fire. He was teasing her! Damn Lupin, she thought. She sighed, leaning against him as she tried to calm her heartbeat down. Jigen, still grinning after teasing her, started playing with her hair, a habit he had started not too long after they started dating. She liked it, it felt nice and made her feel kind of sleepy. She moved a little closer, not paying much attention to the movie, “Lupin said you find something specific in every person you’re dating that you think is cute,” Sakura mumbled, turning slightly as she tried to make herself more comfortable, “He didn’t tell me what you think is cute about him but I honestly don’t think I want to know.”

Jigen chuckled, “You really don’t. It’s kind of embarrassing…,” she hummed in response, his hand moving from her hair to her shoulder, “Do I do anything you find cute?” She asked quietly. Jigen thought for a moment, then smiled a little, “When you smile,” she pinched his side, causing him to jump, “Hey!” She laughed when he playfully poked her shoulder, “I mean it. You don’t do it very often, but whenever you do, it kinda changes your whole face.”

She smiled, looking up at him, “Do you normally get all mushy like this? I thought you were this… I dunno, tough guy who didn’t get into romantic stuff like that,” he grinned, tilting his hat down, “You’ve seen those Western movies right? Toughened cowboy with a gun gets all soft around a pretty woman? It’s kinda like that, I suppose,” he mumbled, his hand moving back into her hair. She shut her eyes, still smiling, “You do something cute, too, you know.”

“Oh really, and what’s that?” He asked. Opening her eyes and looking up at him, she replied, “You smirk when you’re playful. It’s cute,” that got a reaction she was hoping for. His face turned red and he pushed his hat down further on his face with his free hand. She chuckled, turning back to the movie, “Sorry I bumped my nose into yours when I kissed you earlier. I was… uh… dealing with some feelings.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Jigen said suddenly. Sakura looked up at him in question when he moved his arm to push her a little closer, then he leaned down and kissed her, “I can make sure we don’t bump noses again, cuz that kind of hurt. How’s that sound?”

“I think that sounds nice,” she mumbled. The two returned to watching the movie in silence, occasionally making funny quips about the romantic leads and how their relationship was ridiculous.

When Lupin and Fujiko returned home later that night, Lupin practically yanked Fujiko into the next room so as to not wake Jigen and Sakura, as they’d fallen asleep. Shutting the door to the bedroom, Lupin turned to Fujiko, who was smiling warmly, “They seem like they had a good evening,” she said softly. Lupin nodded, “I’m just glad everything’s working out now,” he grinned as he wrapped his arms around her. Fujiko smiled and pushed him off her, “Not tonight Lupin I’m tired,” she turned to look out the window, trying to hide the worry on her face as she began having some worrisome thoughts about the future.


End file.
